Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Minden is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, ranked 599th of 745 in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $90K for a typical one, or 1.4 years of the Amsterdam area’s $65K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $44K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. Only 25 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include US Post Office-Fort Plain and Windfall Dutch Barn.
Where Minden beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,954 in 1820, 4,166 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2025 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Minden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Minden, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Minden.
Minden has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $628 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Minden’s FEMA risk score is 83 of 100, where New York’s towns sit at 31 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1980, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Minden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Fort Plain Central School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Fort Plain Junior-Senior High School, with 316 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Hoag SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 341 | C+ |
| Fort Plain Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 316 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Minden’s median household income is $44,000, below both New York’s towns ($82,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). The average trip to work in Minden is 28 minutes. Most working residents leave Minden for work: only 10% work in town.
| Minden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 3,732 U.S. towns with household incomes like Minden’s, it is healthier than 78%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Minden beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Minden.
| Minden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Minden | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.3% | 6% |
| More smokers | 17.1% | 11.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.6% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Cobleskill 2 Ese weather station, 22 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Minden has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 13° and about 54 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
5.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Wiles Park, at 29 acres. Minden’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Minden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wiles Park | — | 29 |
| 2. Fort Plain Historical Park | — | 22 |
| 3. Old Erie Enlarged Canal Double Lock 33 | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1.4 years of the Amsterdam area’s $65K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 99% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $3,180, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Minden. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year16 mi LandmarkFort Dayton22 mi CaveHowe Caverns
30 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial Auditorium
30 mi MuseumMunson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
19 mi MuseumFenimore Art MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Utica Memorial Auditorium: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fenimore Art Museum: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Minden; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Minden residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Minden’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Minden on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Minden is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 4,166 at the 2020 census. The town is located at the western edge of the county and south of the Mohawk River, which forms its northern border. It possessed a post office from 1802 to 1903. It is also believed to be the namesake of the town of Minden, Louisiana.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Minden.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minden | #599 | C− | B | — | B− | C |
| St. Johnsville | #654 | C− | A− | — | C− | C− |
| Palatine | #520 | C | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Fort Plain | — | — | B | — | B− | C− |
| Nelliston | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Canajoharie | #619 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Danube | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stark | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fort Plain has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Minden, St. Johnsville, Palatine, Fort Plain and Canajoharie report no FBI crime data of their own. Nelliston, Danube and Stark aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Minden with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Minden grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #599 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $91,000, 83% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Reuben Ellwood and William Baker.
